Times of Courage
by Lady Dawson
Summary: Complete. What if Will came to Port Royal with his twin sister? What if she had the ability to see things before they actually happened? Will her presence threaten to doom them all . . . or be their salvation?
1. Pirate Attack

**Times of Courage**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter One: Pirate Attack

A young girl of twelve years stood aboard the head of the great ship of which she was a passenger. Her brown hair hung freely around her calm and sensitive face, her bangs hanging into her wide, sea-blue eyes. Oh, but those eyes of hers were as changing and untameable as the sea. One minute, they could go as calm as a millpond and the next, they could be as harsh as the fiercest storm.

Arianna Turner stared out into the misty fog that appeared around them, frowning slightly. Although she had been raised around England her entire life and hadn't actually been out in the sea like this before, she knew that it was more than likely unnatural for the fog to come up so unexpectedly like this. More than likely, it was the sense of something uncontrollable approaching.

_Pirates_, she thought with a shiver as a few of the crewmembers walked past. One of them gave a wolf-whistle towards the young girl and the other two chuckled.

Ignoring them, Arianna stepped down from the railing and headed through the ship, careful not to get into any of the crew's way. The captain had already enough troubles bringing a girl aboard. Several of the men had superstitions about women aboard ships. Seemed to think that it was bad luck, which was completely ridiculous.

"Ari, what are you doing up here?"

"Looking for you," Arianna said with a small smile at her (slightly older) twin brother. Will grinned and helped her climb onto the railing as he continued to clean the deck on the ship. That was how they had managed to barter their way out of England and head towards the Caribbean; Will was working as a cabin boy for the captain. The first and only time that Arianna had tried helping her brother with his chores, she'd gotten a fierce scolding from the captain. So, she'd unhappily left her brother to doing his chores on his own.

"Will, does this fog seem unnatural to you?" Arianna questioned as she watched her brother.

The elder Turner twin glanced up at her before looking around them curiously. "No, not really," he said with a shrug. "It's just a fog, Ari, nothing else. You're seeing things again," he added with a teasing grin.

Arianna rolled her eyes at her brother, slightly annoyed, but knew he was only kidding. She did have a habit of knowing things before they actually happened. Neither one of them was sure _how_ she did it, but she just _knew_ things.

"No, I'm serious," she said, giving him a playful slap. "Will, it came up so quickly and it's too thick to be natural."

"Ari, we've never been out to sea before, so maybe it gets this thick this far out," Will suggested. Arianna bit her lip, knowing that he was right, but also couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something might be wrong.

Will seemed to accept his sister's silence for her agreement, because he went back to working while Arianna sat musing. Her blue eyes suddenly caught sight of something out in the fog, just out of sight.

"What's that?" she asked, suddenly afraid.

"What's what?" Will looked around and she pointed towards the thing that she saw. His brown eyes narrowed as he saw what she was pointing at. "That's nothing, Ari. Just a ship," he added. The twins were about to dismiss it when another crewmember heard their conversation and came over to inspect what Arianna had spotted in the water.

"That's no ordinary ship," he said in alarm. "Captain!" He hurried to fetch the captain when Williamson himself walked out onto the deck.

"What's the trouble?"

"There's a ship spotted, sir," the sailor answered, pointing towards the unmarked ship. "No colours," he added. Will and Arianna looked at each other in alarm. They _both_ knew what that mean: pirates.

"Look out!" someone yelled and Will yanked Arianna down just as a cannon fired onto the ship.

Arianna let out an exclamation as everything turned to chaos. The crew started firing on the pirate ship as the pirates fired more cannons onto their own ship.

"They're going to sink us!" she shouted, but no one heard her . . . or even paid attention to her. And Will had gotten separated from her sometime during when all the blasting had been occurring. "WILL!" she shouted, trying to find her brother, but she couldn't even see him.

Something dropped down on her and she screamed for her brother again, trying to push the man who yanked her down off. It was difficult, because she was quite a small girl and he was by no means tiny, but she finally managed to push him off. Vaguely, she wondered why he hadn't fought to keep her down, but when she saw his face, she understood.

The man that was lying next to her was lying still and lifeless, his eyes wide and unseeing, his mouth slightly open. She could see the blood wound that was lodged near his heart. There was nothing she could do for him, though, nothing that _anybody_ could do for him. He was already gone from the land of the living.

Arianna felt faint for a moment, having never seen a dead man before—and after all, she was only twelve—but swallowed her nausea as she managed to pull the man's sword from his belt, scrambling to her feet. It was lucky that she picked this moment, because a pirate was on his way, already seeing her and his mouth wide and ferocious.

"Know how to use that, poppet?" he sneered, yanking out his own sword and raising it towards the young girl.

She did know, but hadn't used a sword in years—not since her father had left. Arianna barely remembered William Turner, her father, but what she did remember was that he had told her mother that no daughter of his would go into the world unable to defend herself.

"Not all men are so courteous to women, Patty," he said. "And I won't have our Arianna subject to them with no means of defence."

Her mother had only laughed at this, shaking her head as she went back to helping Will with his lessons.

But it had been a long time—far too long—since she had been able to use those skills. She'd allowed it to get sloppy and her talent with a sword long unused. There was no way that she'd be able to get out of this one alive. A twelve-year-old girl, with rusty skills, against a fully-grown, expert swordsman? She'd be lucky to survive a couple of minutes.

Unfortunately, she didn't have much choice as the pirate chose to strike his sword at her. Arianna managed to block the attack, but just barely as she scrambled out of the way, blocking attack after attack, but not finding enough time to present a return attack.

The pirate wasn't happy with her—however rusty—skills and yanked out a gun to shoot her with. Arianna froze, but someone let out a roar of fury and slammed into the pirate from behind.

Arianna ducked as the gun went off, but Will seized her hand and pulled her away towards the edge of the ship. "Jump!" he yelled in her ear. "Don't look down, just jump!"

Obeying his order without question, Arianna jumped off of the ship and landed with a huge splash into the water. The distance from the ship to the water was a lot further than she'd originally thought and it hurt a lot more, but Arianna struggled to the surface, gasping for breath as she managed to swim to a piece of debris that was in the water.

"Will!" she yelled, trying to find her brother. "Will, where are you? Will! Answer me!"

Panic started to rise through her; where was he and why wasn't he answering her? Arianna panicked easily when he was in danger and her brother knew that; he knew better than to keep her waiting. So where was he?

Arianna screamed when the ship exploded and ducked to avoid the blast that occurred. Shielding herself from the blast, she looked up, tears blinding her as she looked around for her brother again. The pirate ship had vanished into the fog.

"Will, come on, where are you?" she whispered, looking around the water. Pieces of debris from the ship and motionless sailors lay everywhere. But she didn't see her brother everywhere. "William Andrew Turner!" she screamed, starting to get scared. "Don't you dare do this to me! Now, come on, Will, where are you?"

She was answered by the sound of coughing and sputtering. Relief surged through her as she saw her brother struggling to get to her. Arianna seized his arms and pulled him up onto the piece of debris.

"You're okay," she said in relief. Will smiled, but said nothing as he fell against his sister and passed out from exhaustion.

Arianna sighed, helping her brother to lay down as she lay down next to him, staring up at the cloudy sky. All that was left to do was wait, she thought miserable. Wait for a rescue that wouldn't come.

With that hopeless thought, Arianna snuggled closer to her brother and closed her eyes. Sleep came surprisingly easily as she lay there.

--

"Look, there! There's a boy and a girl! They're in the water!"

Jerking awake at the sound of a young girl's voice, Arianna blinked up towards the ship that appeared, glancing groggily up at the sailors that were hauling them aboard. She closed her eyes again, exhausted.

When she woke up again, she found that there was a girl around her own age standing near her brother, who was a few feet from her. If she had to guess, then she would say that the girl was the highborn daughter of some noble or count or governor or something. Her clothes were exquisite and made from the finest fabric. Arianna must've made some noise, because the girl looked around at her.

She smiled pleasantly. "So you're awake," she commented. "It's all right, you're safe here. My name's Elizabeth Swann." The girl walked over to the table and poured her a glass of water, handing it over to Arianna, who took it tentatively. "Don't worry, it's not poisonous."

Arianna smiled wryly, taking a sip of the drink. It did make her feel a bit better. "Thank you, Miss Elizabeth," she said.

"You're welcome and it's Elizabeth," she replied, glancing over at the still unconscious Will.

"Is my brother all right?" Arianna asked, standing up so quickly that she got dizzy for a minute. When her head cleared, she walked over to Will and sat down next to him, taking his hand into hers.

"He'll be fine," Elizabeth assured her. "He just needs rest. What's your name, anyway?"

"Arianna," she answered, looking up at her. "Arianna Turner."

Elizabeth smiled. walking over to them and taking Will's other hand. "Well, Arianna Turner, don't worry about your brother, he'll be okay. What happened to you two, anyway?"

"Our ship was attacked by pirates." Elizabeth's gasp made her look up. "Were there any other survivors?"

"None that we found," Elizabeth said softly. "Did you two have any other family aboard?"

Arianna shook her head. "No, it's just the two of us. We came looking for our father . . ." She stopped, shaking her head. "I don't think we'll find him. Will was hopeful, though."

"I'm sorry."

Shrugging, Arianna looked around the ship that they were on. "Where are we going, anyway?" she asked, glancing towards Elizabeth. She glanced up as a man with a curly wig stepped down the steps and looked towards them. He nodded approvingly as he saw Arianna awake and headed back upstairs. "Who was that?"

"My father," Elizabeth answered. "The governor of Port Royal. That's where we're going."

Arianna nodded as she looked down at Will. "I think we'll go with you," she said softly. "Maybe we can find someplace to settle."


	2. Ten Years Later

**AN:** Okay, guys, I changed Rosalyn's name to Arianna, so don't let that confuse you. Other than that, I didn't change anything from the first chapter. But please, please, review this chapter! I need more than one review to keep me happy.

**Times of Courage**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Two: Ten Years Later . . .

Brushing out her dark curls, Arianna pulled it into a braid with only once glance at the mirror before she headed downstairs. She smiled vaguely as she heard the banging from the room adjacent to the loft that she shared with her brother and the blacksmith, John Brown. However, the blacksmith was hardly ever sober and left most of the work in the shop—or vertically all—to her brother.

Opening the door that led to the shop, Arianna stepped down as Will glanced up at her. "How long have you been up?" she wanted to know as he put the finishing touches on the sword that he was working on.

"A few hours," Will said with a shrug. "I wanted to get this finished. Governor Swann ordered it for the ceremony this afternoon."

"For Captain Norrington?" Arianna asked, frowning slightly. Despite that the man had rescued them at sea eight years ago, she had never liked the captain. Oh, he was a good soldier, she would give him that, but unless she had a good reason for talking to him, she ignored all contact with the man.

"Well, Commodore Norrington," Will corrected, sliding the sword into its sheath. "I'm going to go wash up."

"Seems that you're making a great deal of effort getting yourself presentable to go to the governor's house," Arianna teased as she watched her brother attempt to get all of the dirt off of his hands.

"I'm going to the _governor's_ house, Ari," he pointed out, though he had started to turn an interesting shade of red. Arianna giggled slightly, making him turn even more red, and shook her head. He glared furiously at her, and turned away from her, trying to regain his composure. "Miss Swann and I are _just friends_."

"Right, which is why you take every opportunity you can just to go up to the governor's house or at some social that you know she'll be at, just to spy on her." Arianna patted her brother on the back. "And when are you going to start calling her 'Elizabeth'?"

"Probably never."

"Hmm." Arianna grinned at her brother. "Are you going to have some breakfast before you go? Will?"

She turned back around and saw that her brother was already disappearing up the stairs, undoubtedly to exchanged his working clothes for his good ones.

"Brothers," she grumbled as she headed towards back towards the shop, retrieving the sword and heading back towards the kitchen, where she set the weapon onto the table and went to go make the two of them breakfast. She was just setting it down on the table she heard the sound of footsteps approaching down the steps.

"William Turner!" she warned as she heard him about to head out the door. He retreated a few steps. "For goodness sake, sit down for two seconds together and have some breakfast."

"But . . ." Will began as he saw the food on the table, already waiting for them.

"You can wait ten minutes before heading off to the governor's," Arianna retorted. "Besides, you've been working yourself ragged for day's end trying to finish up that order for him." She gave him the look that was so reminiscent of their mother's that he immediately sat down at the table and started eating.

"You sound like Mother," he said with his mouth full of food.

"I know. Don't talk with your mouth full," she scolded, eating her own meal. "I'm going to head off to the grocery later, is there anything that you need?" she asked.

Will shook his head as he finished. "There, happy now?"

"Yes. Go ahead," she told him, a small smile tugging at the side of her mouth, amused. "Tell Elizabeth that I said hello." Will shook his head and picked up the sword, dashing out of the house. "Don't know why you're in such a hurry to make a fool out of yourself again," she muttered, cleaning up the dishes.

--

"I think that should be everything," Arianna said to the shopkeeper, counting out her money. She handed the proper amount to him, which he readily accepted, handing her the bags.

"Here you are, miss, have a good day," he said with a small nod to her. She smiled as she took her bags and started heading back to the blacksmith's, her thoughts drifting up towards the governor's, where she was certain that Will probably had made a fool of himself.

"Don't know why he keeps on fooling himself," she muttered. "Everyone can see that he loves her. The only one who can't see it is Elizabeth herself." She sighed, running her free hand over her sea-blue eyes.

Arianna glanced up when she heard the sound of gunfire in the harbour. Slightly startled, she turned around towards where it was coming from, her curiosity getting the better of her. "What is going on?" she muttered, seeing soldiers run around the corner, almost running into her.

"Excuse us, miss," one of them said, not stopping as her packages fell out of her hands.

She glared at their backs. "Watch where you're going next time, why don't you?" Bending down, she began to pick up her packages when someone knelt down next to her, helping her gather them up.

"Just like those soldiers, isn't it?" a pleasant voice asked. "Not caring if they're in anybody's way?"

Arianna looked up. Standing next to her was a young man around her own age with sandy-blond hair that was the same length as her brother's. His eyes were a bright that were the colour of emeralds and just as bright. He stood taller than Arianna and strongly built.

"I'm sure that they had someplace important that they needed to be," she said dryly. "Sounded like gunfire down at the harbour."

"Didn't you hear?" He looked vaguely surprised. "Jack Sparrow has escaped. They had him in custody a few minutes ago after saving Miss Swann."

"That's nice. Save a girl and you get arrested."

He laughed. It was a nice pleasant laugh, she thought as she smiled back. She liked the sound of it.

"Well, he won't get to far, by the sound of it." He stood up, helping her to her feet. "With those soldiers trailing him so close behind, he'll be lucky if he gets to the other end of town."

Arianna smiled slightly, thanked him for his help, and started heading back towards the blacksmith shop. Doubtlessly, Will would already be there, probably recovering from his wounds of whatever he'd done while at the governor's.

"Hey, wait!" She stopped and turned, looking at him curiously. Those green eyes stared straight into her sea-blue ones, making her knees tremble slightly underneath her. "What's your name?"

"Arianna. Arianna Turner," she answered.

He smiled. "Well, Arianna Turner," he said softly, but the sound of it made Arianna shiver with pleasure. "I'm Finley. Well, Finn, actually. Warren. Finn Warren."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Warren," Arianna said politely just as she heard the sound of banging in the distance. She turned, her eyes widening. The sound of it was coming from the blacksmith's. "Will," she muttered, hurrying away quickly, leaving a confused Finn behind.

She found the door to the forge blown off of its hinges and soldiers crowded all around an unconscious man. Her brother was standing nearby with a sword in his hand and the forge looked like it had taken a beating.

"What happened?" she exclaimed, hurrying towards her brother to make sure that he was all right. Aside from a few bruises and cuts and looking like he'd been doused in dirt, he was all right.

"I'm fine," Will muttered, glancing towards the soldiers.

"Take him away," Commodore Norrington ordered and the soldiers hauled up the pirate lying unconscious marched him away. "Mr. Turner, I will leave you to your sister's tender mercies."

Without another word, he turned and followed his men out the door, the door slamming behind them. Arianna shook her head. "I still don't like him," she muttered, turning back towards her brother. "Will, are you _sure_ that you're all right?"

"It's just a few bruises, Ari, I'll be all right," he assured her. Arianna sighed, but let it go as she set the packages on the table. "How was town?"

"Don't think you're getting out of it that easily, William Turner!" she warned him. "What possessed you to fight a pirate? You know that they fight dirty or do you not remember?"

Will winced slightly, his mind obviously flashing back to the day they'd been attacked on the voyage to Port Royale. Arianna could still remember the fear when that pirate had pulled out his gun, intent on killing her.

"I remember," he said softly, turning away. "He threatened Miss Swann, Ari," he said almost pleadingly.

Arianna softened at that remark. "That explains it, then," she said quietly, wrapping an arm around her brother. She may tease her brother about it now and again, may be exasperated by the painting he drew of her, but she knew that he loved her. And she longed for the love that he felt for the governor's daughter.

"I'm not going to scold you," she said quietly. Will smiled slightly. "You know, she loves you, too, Will. I've seen the way that she looks at her when she thinks nobody else is watching." Her brother looked slightly surprised by her statement. "I hope one day that someone will look at me the way you look at Elizabeth, Will."

"Maybe one day."

"Yes," she agreed, her thoughts drifting to Finn for a moment. "Maybe one day."


	3. Another Attack and Jailbreak

**Times of Courage**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Three: Another Attack and Jailbreak

Arianna opened the door to her brother's workshop, watching him as she quietly stepped down the steps, not wanting to disturb him. But of course, twins always seemed to know when the other one was there—and when they were in trouble. It was stronger with Arianna, because she always could _sense_ it when something odd was going to happen, but their bond was just as strong as normal twin siblings.

Will looked around at her as she carried a plate down, setting it on the table carefully. "Promise me that you'll eat something tonight?" she asked him. "You've been working all night, Will, and you need to eat something. It makes up for sleep, at the very least."

Her brother grinned. "I promise, Ari," he said loyally. She nodded approvingly as she kissed him on the cheek. "Did something happen today while I was at the governor's?"

Arianna looked at him, then shook her head. "It's nothing," she said, a hot blush rising into her pale cheeks as she looked away from her brother. Thoughts of Finn Warren returned to her mind, just when she was about to forget about him—for a couple seconds, anyway. "Just someone that I met today, is all."

Will raised an eyebrow, sceptical, but said nothing as he returned to his work. "Well, if anybody hurts you, just tell me, okay?" he asked.

"You worry too much, you know that?" Arianna told him with a laugh. Will grinned between blows. "And I can take care of myself, William Turner. It's not like I haven't defended myself before." She sighed, remembering the pirate attack and shivered slightly.

A strange feeling crept up her spine and she looked away from her brother for a minute, staring towards the window. Will almost immediately noticed her preoccupation. "What's the matter?" he asked her, laying down his hammer on the table.

"I've got a funny feeling," she said after a long moment. "Like something is going to happen. I mean, I've had feelings like this before, but . . . they're not usually this strong. There's only been one time that I've felt it this strongly before and that was when—" She cut off, staring towards the window, but Will understood.

"When the pirates attacked us on the way here," he said quietly. Arianna nodded once, her gaze moving towards the candle she'd brought down with her. It was flickering as she watched it before going out in a puff of smoke. She frowned, moving towards the window and peering out.

The streets of Port Royal looked as they always did in the middle of the night, but she still sensed something wrong. It was a dark night, the weather dreary, and the feeling she sensed did nothing to comfort her. Even the clouds concealed the moonlight and light coming from it.

Will joined her, glancing this way and that for any sign of the trouble that she sensed, but neither sibling could see anything out of the ordinary. After Arianna sent him back to his work, she stared out the window for a long while. There was no way she'd get to sleep this night.

Still, she must have at some point, because the next thing that she knew, she had heard the sound of a cannon fire and her head jolted up just in time to see a building somewhere near them blown to pieces. Letting out an exclamation, Arianna scrambled away from the window, cursing the dress she wore as she stumbled over it.

Will grabbed her, pulling her to her feet, and swore loudly. "Get upstairs and hide!" he ordered.

"No way, brother," she retorted, sea-blue eyes flashing. "If you think for one minute that I'm just going to leave you to those bloody pirates, then you had just better think again, William Turner!" Snatching up a sword from the racks, she dared him to test her with her eyes.

"If you get hurt, I will never let you forget it," he warned her, already halfway out the door, a sword in one hand and a hatchet in the other. Arianna found it was useless to point out that even if she sat here and did nothing, then she'd probably get hurt anyway.

Moving quickly outside, she hoisted the sword as a pirate moved to attack her and blocked the attack, moving quickly and gracefully before plunging the sword into his chest. Ten years had passed since she'd been attacked by those pirates on that ship and she had sworn that she would never let her swordsman skills go to waste again.

Once she'd downed the pirate, she hurried to help some children who were under attack. Her movements managed to get the children away, but it put her in danger to about three different pirates, who grinned menacingly at her as she held the sword expertly in her hands.

"This one knows how to play," an ugly one said. "You know how to use that sword, poppet?" Arianna froze, her mind flashing back to ten years ago, when she had faced a pirate who'd spoken almost those exact same words to her, when she'd grabbed the dead sailor's sword.

"As a matter of fact," she said dangerously. "Yes." She swung vigorously, startling the pirate, and she stepped on his foot, managing to knock the weapon out of his hands. Arianna snarled as she downed the pirate, knocking him unconscious with one blow with her hilt. "Bloody pirates," she grumbled as two more approached, cackling evilly as they saw her.

Just as one raised his sword to her, a sword appeared from his chest and he let out a roar of anguish. Arianna gasped in shock as Finn Warren appeared, looking murderous.

"Don't you know," he said angrily, "it's not nice to pick on a lady?" He managed to push the pirate out of the way before he could react and moved his sword to the other pirate, who only laughed.

"Turn around, boy," he said as she felt rather than heard someone approach from behind her. Before she could react, she felt the back of her head explode in pain and Finn let out a roar of outrage.

The last thing she remembered was a satisfied face of a pirate glaring down at her and thinking, _Didn't I already kill him?_ After that, everything went black as she slipped into unconsciousness.

But she could've sworn just as she fell unconscious, she saw skeletons standing around her as moonlight managed to peak its way through the clouds that had been hanging about all evening.

--

"Arianna!" She could hear her brother's voice, but she was tired. It felt like she had been sleeping forever, but she was still so tired . . . "Come on, Ari, please wake up." His voice was pleading. "I need you, Ari, come on now, you've been asleep long enough."

Unable to resist the pleading tone, Arianna groaned slightly, feeling her head pound as she opened her eyes, wincing at the bright light. Why was it so light out? she wondered as she stared at her brother. And why were they outside? Why weren't they in the shop?

Suddenly, memories of the previous night's events returned and she sat up straight, swaying slightly as dizziness overcame her and she grasped Will so that she wouldn't fall over.

"Are you all right?" Will asked, concern etched into his face. She nodded weakly and he clicked his tongue, sceptical.

"Give me just a minute," she said, pressing her fingers against her temples. "Will, what happened last night? I mean . . . I know what happened, but why'd they leave?"

"They took Elizabeth," Will said quickly. She looked up at him in shock. "I've got to go after her, Ari. I know that it's stupid and there's about a million to one chance of finding her, but--"

"But the heart does reason for love that the head cannot understand," Arianna cut across him. Will smiled at her. "Do you have any idea on where we might start looking?"

"Wait, we?"

"Of course, you don't expect me to just let you travel across the Caribbean alone, do you? Some sister I would be."

Will smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Ari." She nodded. "And I think that we might be able to get some help from Jack Sparrow. He spoke of the ship that attacked, the _Black Pearl_, to some soldiers earlier today. I think that he may be able to lead us to it."

"Good a plan as any," Arianna replied as she struggled to her feet. Will helped her. "Let's go."

It wasn't hard to get down into the prison. The thing was near shambles anyway and Port Royal was in complete chaos since the fiasco of last night. Arianna massaged the back of her head, wincing painfully as she followed Will down the steps.

"You! Sparrow!" Will barked.

A pirate with long dark hair glanced up at them as he lay on the floor of the cell, almost serenely. "Aye," he said before lying back down, obviously disinterested in the pair of them. Arianna shook her head in exasperation; they were going to trust their lives—and Elizabeth's—in the hands of this . . . pirate?

"You're familiar with that ship, the _Black Pearl_?" Will asked him, his voice firm and full of purpose. Arianna was actually kind of impressed; she had never known her brother to take command. Usually it was her that took charge in their little family, who was the voice of reason.

"I've heard of it." Jack didn't even look up as he answered the question, looking highly unenthusiastic about the subject at hand, studying the black marks on his hands with more interest than it should.

"Where does it make berth?"

Jack looked up at her brother incredulously, barely passing Arianna a second glance. Not that she wasn't used to that kind of treatment. "Where does it make berth?" he echoed as he sat up. "Have you not heard the stories?" When neither Will nor Arianna answered, he sighed. "Barbossa and his crew of miscreants sail to the dreaded Isle de la Muetra. It's an island that cannot be found . . . except by those who already know where it is."

"The ship's real enough," Will replied angrily as he stared at Jack. "Therefore it's anchorage must be a real place, where is it?"

"Why ask me?"

"Because I've got the feeling that you know exactly where this Isle de la Muetra is, so you could take us straight to it," Arianna added. Jack glanced at her in surprise, surveying her critically.

"Nice lass you got there, lad," he remarked.

"Leave my sister out of this," Will warned. "Besides, she's usually right. More often than not, anyway. Besides that, you're a pirate."

"And you and your lovely sister want to turn pirate yourselves, is that it?" Jack asked, a smirk crossing his face. Arianna had to stop Will from hurting himself as he lunged at the cell.

"Never," he snarled. Jack shrugged and lay back down. Will sighed and Arianna squeezed his arm reassuringly. "They took Miss Swann."

"Oh, so it is that you found a girl!" Jack said in a triumphant voice. "I see. Well, if you're intending to brave all and hasten to her rescue and so win fair lady's heart, you're going to have to do it by yourself, mate. I see no profit in it for me."

"Am I invisible here or something?" Arianna wondered out loud. "Why is it that people insist that I'm not allowed to attempt dangerous feats?" Will smiled slightly at her before looking at Jack.

"We can get you out of here," he told Jack. "I helped build these cells. These are half-barrel hinges. With the right leverage—" He seized a bench and positioned it accurately against the cell door "—and the proper application of strength, the door will lift free."

Jack considered him, looking between the two. "What are your names?" he asked after a long moment.

"Will and Arianna Turner," she answered as she glanced up the stairs. She didn't sense anybody approaching, but they had been known to sneak up behind her before. Last night's episode proved that.

"Turner . . ." he said softly, so quietly that Arianna had to strain to hear it. She frowned as he looked at Will. "That would be short for William, I imagine. Good strong name. No doubt you were named for your father, right?"

Arianna stared at him, wondering how he could have known that, as Will's eyes narrowed, but due to the urgency of the moment, overlooked it. "Yes."

"Uh-huh." Jack got to his feet, his entire demeanour completely changed. "Well, Mr. and Miss Turner, I've changed me mind. If you spring me from this cell, I swear on pain of death, that I will take you to the _Black Pearl_ and your bonny lass. Do we have an accord?"

"Agreed," Will said, shaking Jack's hand.

"Agreed," Jack replied. "Get me out." Will didn't hesitate; he used the bench to lift the door away from the hinges and tossed it onto the floor.

"Hurry, someone will have heard that," Will said anxiously.

"Not without my effects," Jack replied as he grabbed his pistol, sword, and a compass off of the table.

"At least we'll be able to fight our way out," Arianna observed as they quickly left the prison.


	4. Tortuga

**Times of Courage**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Four: Tortuga

Making a quick pit stop by the blacksmith's shop, Arianna quickly traded her gown for some of her brother's old clothes. They were a little big, but they would make fighting easier. She quickly grabbed a sword, tying it to her belt before hurrying out to meet Will and Jack at the docks. Will immediately yanked out his sword as she approached, not recognising her at first, but Jack grinned, showing all of his teeth.

"You're a speedy dresser, _Master_ Turner," he remarked before looking towards the ships. He studied the two ships that were in the harbour, the _Interceptor_ and the_ Dauntless_. "Now, let's see here . . ."

"We're going to steal a ship?" Will protested once he got over the shock of seeing his twin in boy's clothes. Arianna bit her lip carefully; this was starting to sound dangerous. "That ship?" he added weakly, looking at the _Dauntless._

"Commandeer," Jack responded as he nodded towards the _Interceptor_. "We're going to commandeer _that_ ship. Nautical term. One business about your business, boy, or there's no use going." He looked towards Will. "This girl . . . how far are you willing to go to save her?"

"I'd die for her," Will responded. Arianna's stopped listening after this, because her attention had caught sight of the soldiers that were at the docks, her eyes falling on one of them as the wind blew off his hat and Arianna caught sight of the blond hair.

She hadn't realised until that moment that Finn was a member of the army, but now she realised that she shouldn't have been so stupid. If he had just come here from England, she would've heard about it and she would've known him if he had a shop somewhere in town. Port Royal was a proud little seaport, but it was small enough to know everyone.

"Ari?" Will looked at her, touching her shoulder gently. "What's the matter, sister?"

"Nothing," Arianna said quietly, tearing her gaze away from Finn. She couldn't bear to look at him any longer. "Nothing, I'm fine. Really, let's go and get this over with."

Will looked disbelieving, but said nothing as they headed out onto the beach, crawling underneath a boat and walking with it over the heads into the water. As crazy as Jack's idea was, they did manage to trap air within the boat as they walked.

"This is either madness or brilliant," Will muttered when they were halfway to the _Dauntless_.

Arianna chuckled as Jack responded, "It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide."

"Well, whatever it is, how exactly are we going to get the soldiers off of the _Dauntless_?" Arianna wanted to know. "I mean, there's probably at least ten or twelve soldiers watching the boat."

"Ship, darling," Jack corrected, looking pained. "It's a ship. And don't worry about a thing, I've got everything under control."

"Why does that worry me?" Arianna wondered out loud. Jack shot her a dirty look as they finally reached the _Dauntless._

Climbing onto the ship, the trio walked onto the deck and Jack announced, "Everybody stay calm! We're taking over the ship!" The soldiers all looked around at them as they arrived and laughter erupted from all around them. Arianna rolled her eyes as the captain stepped forward, looking at them with an amused smile.

"This ship cannot be crewed by thee people, one of them a woman," he told them, glancing towards Arianna. She made a disgusted face at him. "You'll never make it out of the bay."

"Son," Jack said tiredly, cocking his gun and pointing it directly in the captain's face, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

To Arianna's great surprise, it didn't take much to convince the soldiers to climb into the boat and start rowing towards the _Interceptor_. "Pride of the Royal Navy, they are," Jack murmured as he returned his gun to where it belonged. "Everyone ready?"

Arianna nodded as the _Interceptor_ came sailing towards them. They hide amongst some barrels as the soldiers came aboard the ship, looking for them. Jack signalled them and they swung onto the ship, landing on the deck of the _Interceptor. _Will hacked the ropes holding it in place and the _Interceptor_ started moving out of the bay.

Almost the moment that they started moving, she heard Commodore Norrington shout, "Back to the _Interceptor_!" But by then, they were already out of reach.

"Thank you, Commodore, for getting us on our way, we would've had a hard time of it by ourselves!" Jack yelled back. Arianna couldn't help laughing as she glanced over the railing towards the _Dauntless._

Laughter died on her lips as she saw them bring out their guns. "Duck!" she yelled to Will, diving down onto the deck and narrowly avoiding the gunshots that were fired in their direction. They were about to bring out the cannons, but to Arianna's great relief, Jack had disabled them earlier, making it all too easy to sail out of Port Royal.

--

Arianna was sitting on the deck as she listened to Will talk about their mother to Jack, determined to get answers from him. She had already guessed the truth—or at least part of it. Their father had been a pirate. It made sense, after all. Jack knew their father, William Turner had left some years ago to answer the call of the sea and never returned.

Not wanting to listen to the confrontation, Arianna went below deck to see what she could find. There were a couple of barrels of potatoes and some other ingredients she could probably use and they were going to have to eat eventually.

Slicing up the potatoes, Arianna glanced up as Jack climbed below deck, surveying her critically. "What are you doing, girl?" he wanted to know.

"We'll have to eat eventually," she replied. "Unless you'd prefer to wait until we got . . . wherever we're going."

"Tortuga," Jack responded. "Good idea, though. Can't captain on an empty stomach." As he spoke, his stomach grumbled and Arianna rolled her eyes. "You seem to be taking this a lot better than your brother did. You suspected the truth?"

"That our father was a pirate?" Arianna said dryly. "It's the only thing that makes sense, Jack." She sighed. "I'm not going to pretend that I'm all right with this, but if it helps to save Elizabeth, then I'm going to do it. She's not just the love of my brother's life, she's been a good friend of mine for a long time, ever since we came here from England. Friendship like that doesn't come easily and I'm not going to lose the one true friend I've ever had."

"Ever thought about turning pirate yourself, Arianna?" Jack inquired, looking at her severely. She stared at him. "You know, piracy gives women more freedom than other societies. I think you'd be happier if you had more freedom. You don't see content living the life of a common woman."

"I'm content with living the life that I choose. I don't intent on spending my life running from the law, never able to come home. If I did turn pirate, then that means I would have to say goodbye to Will, never able to see him again, save in secrecy." She shook her head. "I couldn't do that to him."

Jack considered this and shrugged. "Well, it's your decision, but the two of you are well on your way to becoming pirates." She blinked in confusion. "You sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the fleet, and are just about to sail with a crew out of Tortuga."

Arianna chuckled. "You forgot the fact that Will is completely obsessed with treasure, Captain Sparrow," she pointed out. He stared at her, bewildered. "Elizabeth is his treasure."

"Ah." Jack nodded, admitting to this fact. "Well, we'll be coming up on Tortuga by nightfall. Best be prepared." He headed out of from below deck and Arianna shook her head.

"Why do I have the feeling that he's just using us for his own personal gain?" she wondered as she continued to work on the meal.

--

If Arianna thought about what to expect when she entered into Tortuga, then her imagination was nowhere near what it was like. The pirates' haven was like one big, drunken party that had gotten out of hand. She had barely stepped through the streets and had almost been trampled twice because of two street fights that were going on.

"It is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep this sweet, luxurious scent that is Torguta. What do you think?" Jack asked the twins as they walked through the streets.

Vaguely, Arianna wondered if he was actually serious while Will replied, "It'll linger."

"A fairly honest response," Arianna muttered as Jack grinned, walking further into the streets. She glanced back as she heard gunfire in the background. If this was Jack's idea of paradise, then he was crazy.

"I tell you, mates, if every town were like this one, then no man would ever feel unwanted." Jack's eyes lit up as a redheaded woman came over to them. "Scarlett!"

She struck him across the face and Arianna suppressed a giggle as Scarlett walked away with even a word. "I'm not sure that I deserved that," Jack muttered as a blonde woman appeared. "Giselle."

"Who was she?" the blonde asked him. Before Jack could respond, she struck him across the face and walked away.

Jack rubbed his face gingerly and looked towards the twins weakly. "I may have deserved that," he said.

"Suddenly, I'm liking this town a whole lot better," Arianna said. At that, both she and Will burst into laughter and Jack reluctantly smiled.

After they'd retrieved a friend of Jack's, whom Arianna remembered as Mr. Gibbs, once a part of the Royal Navy, they headed into the bar, where she and Will kept a look out while Jack spoke to Gibbs about a crew. Arianna didn't pay much attention to the conversation until she heard Jack say, "Let's just say that it's a matter of leverage."

She glanced towards the two men as Jack jerked his head towards the twins. "The kids?" Gibbs whispered, following his gaze. Arianna pretended to be watching out for the men in the bar while listening closely.

"Those are the son and daughter of Bootstrap Bill Turner," Jack responded, his voice quiet. Arianna glanced quickly towards Will, who met her eyes carefully. "His _only_ children, savvy?"

"Are they now?" Arianna could feel Gibbs' gaze on the pair of them, but she kept utterly still. " 'Leverage,' says you. 'I think I feel a change in the wind,' says I. I'll find us a crew. There's bound to be some sailors on this rock as crazy as you."

"One can only hope," Jack replied.

Arianna looked at Will and he wrapped an arm around her gently. He said nothing, but they both knew that Jack needed them for some reason. But they needed him to rescue Elizabeth, who was in grave danger. So for the moment, Arianna knew that they had to trust him.

She hated that.


	5. Heading to Isle de la Muetra

**Times of Courage**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Five: Heading to Isle de la Muetra

Arianna woke up the next morning, half-thinking that everything had just been a bad dream and she was going to wake up in her own room at the blacksmith's shop. She heard knocking and groaned slightly. _There's Will coming to get me up,_ she thought as she pushed herself up, blinking at the surprise sight that met her eyes.

Will was still asleep next to her, snoring slightly as she climbed out of the bed, shaking her head slightly as the knock came on the door again. With a quick glance at her brother, Arianna walked over and opened the door. Jack was standing there, looking expectantly at her.

"Aren't you two ready yet?" he asked in exasperation. "Come on, we've a ship to find and your brother's girl to rescue."

"We'll be right down," Arianna told him, slamming the door in his face. She heard him curse and grinned triumphantly; apparently, she'd succeeded in slamming it actually on his nose. The man was insufferable, she thought as she walked back over to Will. "All right, time to get up! William, wake up, now," she ordered. Her brother groaned. "William Andrew Turner!"

"All right, I'm up, I'm up!" Will whined as he pushed himself up. "You know, it's amazing I've put up with you for all of these years. I should've done the smart thing and thrown you out years ago," he grumbled. Arianna only smiled at him as she tossed his jacket towards him.

"Come on, we've got to go. Jack's waiting downstairs," she told him. "I think Gibbs has probably got himself a crew." She paused. "You know, I heard Gibbs talking to Jack last night about some stories about the _Black Pearl_. What do you think he was talking about?"

"I'm not sure," Will admitted as he got up, sliding his jacket on. "But Jack definitely needs our help for something. The only question is, what?"

"Not to mention, I'm starting to get the feeling that Jack's one of those people that has their own way of doing things and everybody just has to go along with it." Arianna shook her head. "Unfortunately, I don't foresee any way of finding Elizabeth without Jack."

"Neither do I," Will acknowledged. "Let's not keep him waiting." Arianna nodded as she followed her brother down the stairs. "Are you ever going to tell me what was on your mind yesterday, before we left?"

"It's nothing," Arianna said quietly, her mind flashing back to Finn for a moment. If she ever saw him again, would he look at her the same way? Or would he be disgusted with her for acting like a pirate?

Will shook his head. "Ari, when are you going to be honest with me about that. You keep saying that same thing, act like nothing's bothering you, but I'm your twin. There's some things that you cannot hide from a twin and this is one of them. What's going on?"

Arianna looked up at him and sighed. "I met somebody," she said at long last. "And he's . . . quite a gentleman. But he's a soldier, Will, and . . . somehow, I don't think that this is going to score high on his ranking."

Her brother stared at her. "Why didn't you tell me that it was something like this?" he asked with a smile.

"I don't know," Arianna said with a laugh. "I just . . . it seemed too personal to share it with a brother, Will. It didn't seem like anything was going to happen and nothing ever did. Besides, it was only yesterday that I met him. I just wanted to keep it to myself for a while." She smiled at her brother before looking away.

With a small smile at her, Will wrapped his arm around her. "Listen, Ari, I don't think that he'd look down on you for this. And besides, if he does, then he's not worth getting your heart involved in."

"Maybe not," Arianna replied, "but sometimes your heart makes the decision of who you love for you. Did you choose to love Elizabeth?" she asked him. Will paused and shrugged.

"I don't know," he admitted. "No, I don't think so. It's been so long, Ari. I've been in love with her for almost half of my life. I'll never forget the first time that I ever saw her."

"So you don't think that I'm crazy?" Arianna asked him, looking up at her brother carefully.

Will laughed. "No, I do not think that you're crazy," he assured her. "But just be careful, all right? Sometimes your heart makes you do things that reason cannot understand."

"Believe me, I know," Arianna said as they joined up with Jack. Almost immediately, they headed out to the docks, where Gibbs was waiting for them with the crew for the _Interceptor_.

"Oh, great," she muttered, casting an eye over them. Most of them looked like they hadn't had a good deal of luck in the longest time. Either that or they were half-drunk. Or both.

"Feast your eyes, Captain," Gibbs said, waving his hand over the men that he had acquired. "All of them faithful hands before the mast. Every man worth his salt and crazy to boot." Jack walked in front of them, inspecting each sailor carefully.

"So this is your able-bodied crew?" Will asked Jack. Arianna surveyed the men in front of her critically.

"I wouldn't go quite that far," she muttered. In her opinion, that was stretching the imagination a little bit. Actually, quite a lot, but she kept that particular statement quiet. No need to cause a commotion.

"You, sailor!" Jack barked, speaking to an elder sailor that had a blue and yellow parrot perched on his shoulder.

"Cotton, sir," Gibbs told him before looking towards the sailor in question, waiting for Jack's question.

"Mr. Cotton, do you have the courage to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" Jack asked him. Cotton looked towards Gibbs helplessly. "Mr. Cotton! Answer, man!"

"He's a mute, sir," Gibbs told him. "Poor man had his tongue cut out—" Arianna grimaced as Cotton opened his mouth, revealing his tongue-less mouth. "So he trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's yet figured how."

"Mr. Cotton's . . . parrot. Same question," Jack said, looking towards the parrot. Arianna shook her head.

"Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!" the parrot squawked. The twins looked at each other incredulous, then at Jack, who looked at Gibbs.

"Mostly, we figure that means yes," Gibbs said.

"Of course it does," Jack agreed. He looked at the twins. "Satisfied?"

"Well, you've proven that they're mad," Will observed. Arianna chuckled as she cast her eyes down the row of sailors, her attention directed to one of them who had his had covering most of his face. To her surprise, this sailor spoke before they could ask another question.

"And what's the benefit for us?"

Noting Jack's wince as he walked hesitantly towards the speaker, Arianna followed him as Jack lifted the hat off of . . . her. The sailor was a woman! Arianna realised with a grin. At least she wouldn't be alone on this trip, accompanied by a ship full of men.

"Anamaria," Jack said with a nervous chuckle. Not too surprisingly, the woman smacked him and Jack looked at the twins. Will had a look of exasperation on his face.

Arianna, on the other hand, was grinning. "Okay, she comes with us," she announced. Anamaria smiled at Arianna while Jack looked wounded at her. "What? Did you not deserve that one either?"

Jack shook his head as he looked back at Anamaria. "No, that one I deserved," he admitted. Anamaria nodded in agreement.

"You stole my boat," she accused him. Before he could respond, she slapped him again. Arianna moved out of the way, letting Jack fall onto the ground, groaning as he got back up to his feet.

"Actually," he protested, "I borrowed it. Borrowed without permission, but with every intention of bringing it back."

"But you didn't!" Anamaria shot back furiously. Jack cowered underneath her fury, terrified.

"You'll get another one!"

She pointed her finger threateningly at him and he backed up a few steps again; Arianna grinned, amused that it took so little to bring down the infamous Jack Sparrow. "I will," Anamaria assured him. Jack gulped, casting a helpless look at the twins.

Apparently, Will had decided that his had gone on long enough, because he told Anamaria, "A better one."

"A better one!" Jack agreed, looking relieved at her brother's interruption while Arianna shook her head. Where were they planning on getting a better ship to sooth her fury?

"That one," Will added, pointing towards the _Interceptor_. Arianna stared at him; had he lost his mind?

"What one?" Jack asked, looking at him. Will nodded behind Jack, who turned before looking at Will again. "_That_ one? Aye, that one," he added, seeing Anamaria's thoughtful look. "What say you?"

"Aye!" Anamaria shouted. The rest of the crew roared their agreement before heading off to the boats. Anamaria shot Jack a scathing look as she joined the crew.

Gibbs almost immediately protested, both to Anamaria. "No, no, no, it's frightfully bad luck to bring a woman along board, sir. Not to mention two," he added, glancing quickly at Arianna.

Arianna opened her mouth to retort, but Jack interrupted her. "It'll be far worse not to have them. If only to escape their wrath," he added weakly, trailing after his crew.

--

The night that they started their voyage the Isle de la Muetra, a storm raged through the night. Arianna had never been through such rough waters, nor had she been soaked, save for the day that they were shipwrecked and the lone survivors. They rode straight through the storm, despite pleadings from Gibbs, to which Jack ignored his warnings, telling him that she could hold a bit longer. They were catching up.

The next morning, the sailors all hung on the edge of the ship, staring out onto the ghastly place that was their destination. "Puts a chill on the bones, how many honest sailors have been taken by this voyage," Gibbs murmured. Arianna glanced at him before staring out at the isle.

"How did Jack come by the compass?" Will wanted to know, glancing up towards the captain. Arianna was curious about that as well; how had he managed to find their way in a middle of a storm with a compass that didn't point north?

"Not a lot's known about Jack Sparrow before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of Isle de la Muetra," Gibbs responded as he took a sip of his flask. "That was back before I met, back when he was captain of the _Black Peal_."

"What?" Will exclaimed.

Arianna's mouth had dropped open, but her mind was working quickly to come up with an explanation for this. "He failed to mentioned that," she said quietly to Gibbs.

"Oh, he plays things closer to the vest now. And a hard-learned lesson it was," Gibbs said good-naturedly. He sat down, motioning for the twins to take a seat. "You see, three days out, the first mate comes to him and says everything's an equal share; that should mean the location of the treasure as well. So, Jack gives up the bearings." Arianna nodded slowly, watching the expression on her twin's face. "That night . . . there was a mutiny. The marooned Jack on an island and left him to die. But not before he'd gone mad with the heat."

Both twins looked at each other and Will remarked, "That explains some things about him."

Gibbs nodded. "Now, when a pirate is marooned, he's left with a pistol with a single shot. One shot. That won't do much good hunting or to be rescued, but after a couple weeks of a starving belly and thirst, that pistol start to look real friendly. But Jack, he escaped the island and he still has that one shot, but he won't use it, though. Save on one man." Gibbs' voice had turned hard. "His mutinous first mate."

"Barbossa!" Will said in realisation. Arianna blinked in surprise, wondering why she hadn't realised that. Gibbs nodded. "How did Jack get off of the island?"

"Well, I'll tell ye. He waded out into the shallows and waited three days and nights, until all manner of sea creatures came and acclimated to his presence. And on the fourth morning, he roped himself a couple of sea turtles, lashed them together and made a raft."

Will and Arianna stared at him. "He roped together a couple of sea turtles?" he clarified. Gibbs nodded. "What did he use for rope?"

"Human hair from my back," Jack answered, appearing behind them. Arianna glanced up at him, hardly surprised that he was standing there. "Let go of the anchor!" he called to the crew, who ran to obey his orders. "Young Mr. Turner and I are to go ashore. Miss Turner, you stay here."

"What?" Arianna was incredulous as she gaped at Jack. "Why? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, not to mention that you might need some help getting out of there!" She was furious that she was being left behind, especially after Jack had told her that women were granted more freedom amongst pirates.

"Ari, he's right," Will said, clasping her shoulders gently. "I need to know that at least one of my girls are safe." She sighed, unable to say no when he put it that way, and gave in.

"Fine," she grumbled. "But if you get yourself captured while you're over there, then I'll kill you."

Will bit back a smile at her as Gibbs walked over to Jack and said in a hushed voice, "Captain? What if the worst should happen?"

Arianna glanced over at Gibbs, wondering what the worst was when Jack replied, "Keep to the Code."

"Aye, the Code."

Remembering what she'd heard about the pirates' Code, Arianna quickly looked at Will. "Whatever you do, don't let yourself fall behind, Will," she warned him.

"Why?"

"Pirates code," she replied. "Any man who falls behind is left behind." Will glanced quickly at the pirates, then nodded in understand. "Go, bring Elizabeth back."


	6. Decisions and Captured

**Times of Courage**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Six: Decisions and Captured

Sitting down on the deck, Arianna kept a careful watch out for her brother, Jack, and Elizabeth, praying that they would come back quickly. She shivered slightly as no one appeared, hoping that nothing had gone wrong in the cave. They had no way of knowing what was happening. As far as she was concerned, that was the worst part about the whole escapade was the waiting. She hated waiting when her friends and family were in trouble.

Anamaria appeared next to her, sitting down beside her, handing her a jug of rum. "Here, drink," she instructed. Arianna stared at her. "I'm serious. It's good for the waiting." With a sigh, Arianna reluctantly submitted to taking a small sip of the drink, forcing herself to swallow. "It's an acquired tasted. One that you're usually better off not having."

Managing a small smile, Arianna glanced towards the cave again. "I would know, wouldn't I?" she asked quietly. "If something happened to Will? He's my brother, he's my twin . . . I . . . I ought to know, right?"

"Don't rightly know, to be honest, lass," Anamaria said gently, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "But you and your brother have a strong bond through siblings. So, if you think that you would know, then you probably would. I believe that."

Arianna sighed. "Things were so much simpler when it was just the two of us against the world," she said quietly. "It was much easier then. I love my brother and I want him to be happy. But I don't know how I can be expected to live in a world where I can't be happy. Everyone at Port Royal expects that one day I'll find a good man, marry him, and produce heirs. And, on some level, I do want that, but not when it means that I'm going to have to sacrifice who I am. Not if it means that I have to pretend to be someone that I'm not."

"Piracy has its consequences, too," Anamaria told her severely. "You have to be dedicated to it. Once a pirate, always a pirate. If you mean to accept this life, then it has to be your choice and there can be no going back. Because truth be told, they will never accept you back into polite society. If you take one step towards piracy, then they'll condemn you for a lifetime."

Arianna nodded with a small sigh. "I know," she said quietly. "And I couldn't do that to Will. Even though the pirates that almost killed us that day we were attacked, on the crossing from England, I think that being a pirate would be easier than pretending to be someone that I'm not." She sighed. "It's funny, Anamaria, but I've been better treated amongst pirates than I have been at Port Royal."

She smiled at the younger woman, but said, "All the same, don't be too hasty in your decision. Make sure that it's what you want, not what people expect you to."

Standing up, Anamaria walked away to break up the argument that started between the two pirates. She sighed, leaning back against the steps as she stared out into where Will and Jack had disappeared. Arianna suddenly sat straight up, blinking.

"There they are!" she yelled. Everyone looked around at her shout. "Will! Elizabeth! Ja—" The captain's name died on her lips when she realised that the pirate was not amongst them. As they got closer, Arianna could see that only Will and Elizabeth were in the boat. She hurried over, helping them climb up into the ship. "Will, what happened?" Arianna asked, looking at them. Elizabeth stared at her in shock. "Where's Jack?"

"Jack?" Elizabeth repeated faintly. "Jack Sparrow?" Anger rose into her face as Will looked towards his sister and the awaiting pirates.

"Fell behind," he replied, pushing Elizabeth down the steps. Arianna stood frozen for a second, looking back towards the cave. Everyone looked at each other, waiting for someone to issue orders.

"Keep to the Code," Arianna said quietly, looking at Gibbs. He nodded mutely and the crew immediately went to work, moving away from the isle as fast as they could. The last thing that they wanted was the _Black Pearl_ gaining on them.

Looking at Gibbs, Arianna said, "I need to be alone. Please don't come and get me unless you need me." He nodded in understanding as she headed into Jack's cabin, sitting down in the chair, placing her head in her hands. She had just condemned a man to death. Granted, they probably would've gotten killed if they had stayed, anyway, but that was beside the point.

Arianna shook her head. The worst part about her being able to sense things before they actually happened, she thought, was that she knew that they all would have died if they'd gone after Jack. But that didn't make the decision any easier.

--

_She knew that she was dreaming even as she sat on the hill, overlooking the sea. The wind was blowing in her hair as she stood up, watching with fascination as a small little boy played with the grass, laughing. As she watched him, he began to sing the song that she had learned long ago, from her father. A song that she'd refused to sing after he'd left. "_Yo ho, all together, hoist the colours high. Thieve and beggar. Never shall we die_," he sang as he looked up at her, straight into his eyes. _

_And as he stared at her, she realised that she was staring straight into her own sea-blue eyes. As she looked closer, she saw some of her own features in the little boy's face, but his smile . . . his smile was that she knew, yet she couldn't put her finger on it. _

_Another little boy walked over and she stared in shock as the two began talking. This one was like seeing a seven-year-old Will all over again. And she knew now, that she was looking at her son and nephew. Her son . . . and Will and Elizabeth's boy . . ._

With a small gasp, Arianna sat up straight, massaging her back and wondering what had caused her abrupt awakening. She heard voices shouting on deck and she ignored her tiredness and hurried out to see what the commotion was.

"Mr. Gibbs!" Arianna shouted to him. He looked over at her as Elizabeth climbed up on the deck. "What's happening?"

"The _Black Pearl!_" Anamaria shouted from the wheel. Both girls looked at her in astonishment. "She's gaining on us!" Arianna raced over to the edge; sure enough, the pirate ship was right behind them, gaining speed with every moment that passed by.

"But this is the fastest ship in the Caribbean!" Elizabeth protested as she hurried up the steps.

"You can tell them that after they've caught us," Anamaria snapped at her as she struggled to keep the un-dead pirates at bay. Arianna let out a deep breath, looking around at everything to come up with some way to get away from the pirates.

As Elizabeth started issuing orders to escape from the _Pearl_, Arianna climbed onto the ledge, peering over the edge to see the pirate ship that was pursing them. Will joined her, staring at the ship. He almost instantly pressed his foot on the cannon, stopping one of the crew from throwing it overboard. "We're going to need that," he told him.

Arianna shook her head. "If we get out of this alive," she told Will, "then I'm personally going to free Jack from the gallows that he's been sentenced to." Will made a small smirk before heading off to talk to Elizabeth, Gibbs, and Anamaria.

As the two ships crossed paths, they began firing on one another. As she grabbed a gun, Arianna started firing on the pirate ship, knowing perfectly well that it wouldn't do any good, seeing as the pirates were cursed. "We could use a few more ideas, lass!" Gibbs yelled at Elizabeth.

"Can't you come up with a few?" Arianna yelled at him. He made a face at her as she ducked to avoid a gunshot from the enemy ship. "Why is it that we're expected to come up with the brilliant ideas?"

Anamaria had apparently had enough, because she pointed a gun at Elizabeth and said threateningly, "We'll give them her."

Letting out an exclamation, Arianna was about to head to her friend when Will said quietly, "She's not what they're after." Everyone looked at him as Elizabeth reached for something around her neck, but there was nothing there.

"The medallion!" she whispered. Will jumped to action, racing down to the lower part of the ship to find something. Arianna instantly knew what they were talking about; she remembered the medallion that Will had brought with them, but he'd lost it the day that they'd been rescued. Their father had sent it to the both of them, but Arianna had let Will keep it. She had never quite forgiven Bill Turner for leaving.

It seemed like only a couple of minutes before the _Black Pearl_ came aboard and captured the crew. Will was still below deck as they were taken aboard the _Pearl_, where Jack was standing prisoner. Arianna watched with growing horror as the ship was blown to pieces and sunk to the bottom.

"Will!" she whispered, but in her fear, she hadn't noticed that no overwhelming grief weighed down upon her. Elizabeth charged at Barbossa in her anger and attacked him, but the pirate was much bigger than she was and merely shoved her at the pirates.

"Elizabeth!" Arianna ran to help her friend, but they tossed her aside as though she were made of rags.

Scrambling to her feet, Arianna was about to yank out her sword when a familiar voice rang out. "Barbossa!" Arianna whirled around to find her brother—dear dependable Will—standing on the ledge behind her. "They got free!" he said threateningly, yanking up a gun and pointing it towards the pirate captain.

Barbossa didn't even look remotely intimidated. "What be in your head, boy?" he asked incredulously.

"Elizabeth and Arianna go free," Will said coldly. All around them, the pirates chuckled.

"It's only got one shot and we can't die," Barbossa informed Will. The twins' eyes met and they both knew what they had to do. One of them had to go with Barbossa in order to guarantee Elizabeth's freedom. And Arianna knew perfectly well that Will would never allow her to take that risk.

Will redirected the gun, pointing it towards his neck. "You can't," he agreed, "but I can." Gasps emerged from the crowd and incredulous surprise appeared on Barbossa's face.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"No one," Jack said, coming forward. "He's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed. Lovely singing voice, though. Eunuch," he added in an undertone.

"Oh, my—" Arianna made a face at Jack. Was he crazy enough to think that people were actually going to believe that or was he just crazy enough to think that they'd go along with it?

"My name is Will Turner. Bootstrap Bill Turner was my father. His blood runs through my veins!" Will held the gun more threatening towards his neck as Jack walked away, hanging his head.

"He's the spitting image of ol' Bootstrap Bill, coming back to haunt us!" one of the pirates yelled, pointing at Will.

"On my word, do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker!" Will threatened.

Barbossa nodded once. "Name your terms, Mr. Turner."

"Elizabeth and Arianna go free!"  
"Yes, we know that one!" Barbossa retorted, glancing sideways at the girls. "Anything else?"

Will glanced at them. "And the crew—the crew's not to be harmed."

With a nasty smile, Barbossa walked towards him. "Agreed," he said.


	7. Marooned

**Times of Courage**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Seven: Marooned

Suppressing a small sigh, Arianna laid back against the sand, staring up at the blue sky. It had been several hours since Barbossa had "released" them. Instead of his agreement to Will to let them go, he had dropped them off on a little island that was far enough away so that they couldn't get any help. Jack had been released with her and Elizabeth; the two of them were arguing in the background about how he'd escaped the first time.

Elizabeth appeared next to her and sat down on the sand, looking extremely disgruntled. "He spent three days on a beach drinking rum," she said, disgusted, "and then bartered passage off."

"Uh-huh?"

With a sigh, Elizabeth looked at her. "Doesn't _anything_ surprise you?" she wanted to know.

"Not really," Arianna admitted. She shook her head, sitting up. Of all people, she knew truth from fiction. Why couldn't she start telling people the truth about herself? The only person that she'd ever let in completely was Will. And he was different because he was her brother; he wouldn't condemn her. "Actually, that's not true. Some things do surprise me."

Her friend looked at her, surprise evident in her eyes. "Like what?" she wanted to know.

"Like I could very well be the last surviving Turner," Arianna said quietly. She knew that her brother's demise was likely to occur if they didn't rescue him and without a way off of this island, she was of no help to her brother. "I never thought that I would outlive Will, Lizzie. He was always the stronger one of us, even if he never took charge. I don't think I could live without him." To her surprise, Arianna felt sobs emerge from her and Elizabeth hugged her gently.

"You're not going to have to mourn your brother, Arianna," she told her firmly. "I've got an idea."

Arianna nodded, wiping her eyes as she looked up at Elizabeth. "You know, I never thought that I would say this, but you're going to make an amazing sister-in-law, Lizzie. There's nobody that I would want more to be my sister and my brother's wife."

Elizabeth blushed interestedly, but shook her head. "I don't know about that," she admitted. "Will doesn't . . . he doesn't feel that way about me." Arianna raised an eyebrow. "He barely even talks to me."

"That's because he's afraid of making a fool out of himself whenever you're around," Arianna laughed. "Trust me, he loves you. He has been in love with you ever since we met you, that day out in the ocean. Do you honestly think that he would've done all of this—engaging in piracy and turning himself over to Barbossa—if he wasn't?"

Elizabeth stared at her. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course I mean it!" Arianna shook her head. "If you can't see how much my brother cares about you, Elizabeth, then you haven't even been looking at him. Haven't you ever seen the way that he looks at you? All he wants you to do is to love him back. He would do anything for you. And that includes joining the ranks of pirates, the very thing he despises."

"I didn't dare look at him fully," Elizabeth said at long last, "because I was afraid that if I did, I would just see that Will looked at me with nothing else than respect. That was I just another piece of finery. I don't want to be just another woman."

"Trust me," Arianna said quietly, "that's the one thing I understand is not wanting to be another woman. I'm sick of being restricted just because I'm a woman. Everyone expects me to settle down one day, produce heirs . . . and they never stop to think about what I want."

"Don't you want that?" Elizabeth asked, glancing sideways at her. "Do you really want to grow old alone, never marry or have children?"

Arianna glanced at her. "No, I want that," she said after a long minute. "One day . . . but I need to know who I am first. There is . . . so much of me that longs for the sea, longs for a life that isn't expected of me. And I'm not so sure that I'm going to be able to find that in Port Royal, Elizabeth. These past few days, I've been happier than I've been my entire life. Even though you were in danger, I loved every minute of it. I'm just not so sure that I could do that to Will." She sighed. "It seems that I lose either way. If I stay, then I can never do the things I want to do. If I leave . . . then I lose my brother."

"You would never lose him," Elizabeth told her, wrapping an arm around her. "He's not just your brother, Arianna, he's your twin. That's a relationship that's not going to go away instantly. He's a part of you and always will be."

Arianna looked at her friend and sighed deeply. "I sincerely hope that you're right, Elizabeth," she told her.

Jack appeared beside them, looking slightly drunk. "Having a good talk, ladies?" he asked, plopping on the beach next to them. Elizabeth scowled at him and looked away; Arianna grinned. Apparently she was still angry with Jack about the whole 'escaping the island on the back of sea turtles' thing. "Come now, Lizzie, you really don't want to spend the next month angry with me, are you?"

"Yes, I do!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "And Will doesn't have a month! We have to go after him now!"

"Ladies, I don't like this situation any more than you do, but take a good look around. We're in the middle of nowhere. The rum raiders that I bartered passage off of have long been out of business, thanks to your bloody friend Norrington."

"I hate that man," Arianna announced. Even Elizabeth chuckled at that. "I'm sorry, but that man really aggravates me. Now, one of his lieutenants, on the other hand," she said without thinking, "that is a fine gentleman."

"Apparently, your brother isn't the only person who has fallen for the wrong person," Jack murmured. This remark received slaps from both girls and he ducked to avoid the blows. "What? What's the hitting for?"

"Who are you talking about, anyway?" Elizabeth wanted to know. "Which lieutenant of James' has caught the eye of Arianna Turner?"

Arianna managed a weak smile. "Finley Warren," she answered quietly. "But it's not like there's a chance of that now. I've engaged in piracy and he'll probably want nothing more to do with me. Probably be ashamed that he even showed interest in me. So in just a couple of days, I have lost both my brother and a man I could've loved." She threw a piece of seaweed into the ocean.

"Maybe there's something that we can do about that," Elizabeth suggested, looking at Jack.

"Aye, you're absolutely right about that," Jack answered, handing a bottle of rum to each of them. Arianna stared at it before looking at Elizabeth, eyebrows raised. "Here's luck to you, Will Turner. And Finley Warren, may you find a pirate can be a very commendable ally and partner." He drank his own bottle and Elizabeth sighed, drinking her own bottle.

Arianna really wasn't sure that she liked the look in Elizabeth's eye as she did so.

--

The next morning, when she woke up, she smelt smoke and sat straight up, whirling around as she saw the thick smoke that had covered the island. "Elizabeth?" she yelled, trying to find her friends through the smoke. "Jack! Where are you two?"

Elizabeth appeared, looking extremely pleased while Jack followed, looking extremely upset. "What are you doing?" Jack yelled. "You burnt all the trees, the shade, the rum—"

"Yes, the rum is gone," Elizabeth agreed, her face flushed with triumph as she looked out into the ocean.

"Why is the rum gone?"

"One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high! The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me! Do you really think that there is even the _slightest_ chance that they won't see it?"

Jack was torn between incredulity and confusion. "But why is the rum gone?" he asked again. Arianna rolled her eyes; the man was drunk enough without the rum, he didn't need more of it.

Leaving Jack and Elizabeth to their arguments, Arianna headed off to watch the sunrise for a bit, but froze when she saw the white sails that were heading towards them, recognising the _Dauntless_ as she sailed towards the island, alerted by the signal.

"There'll be no living with her after this," Jack remarked, coming up behind her.

Arianna trudged on board as Elizabeth was rescued, but Jack was immediately clad in irons, kept watch by two soldiers. Her heart skipped a beat as she recognised Finn, but she avoided his gaze, not wanting to see the scorn in his eyes as he looked at her.

Governor Swann walked up to her as she stood uncomfortably on the ship, wondering what was going to happen to her. "Miss Turner, I am going to forgive both you and your brother's acts of piracy, seeing as it was done to save my daughter and you succeeded."

"Thank you," Arianna said, biting her lip. "Are they going to save Will, then?" she wanted to know, glancing up to where Elizabeth and Norrington stood on the deck, talking quietly.

"Yes," the governor said stiffly. He looked at her sharply. "And don't think that I don't know about your brother's affections for my daughter, Miss Turner. I think that she has made the right choice today, when she decided to marry the commodore."

Arianna froze, staring at the governor as she walked up. Without thinking, she headed up to talk to Elizabeth as Norrington left to go command the ship. "What's this about your marrying that insufferable man?" she hissed to Elizabeth.

Her friend looked at her helplessly. "It was the only way that they would go save Will," she whispered. Arianna's shoulders slackened as she realised why Elizabeth had done what she did. If she hadn't agreed, then they wouldn't be going to save Will.

"You didn't tell them about the curse," she said after a long moment. Elizabeth shook her head.

"Jack didn't either," she admitted.

"I notice that you didn't either, Arianna," Jack said, appearing next to them. She looked at him. "For the same reason, I expect."

Elizabeth sighed. "He wouldn't have risked it," she said quietly. Arianna leaned against the railing before glancing at Jack.

"You'd better go, Jack," she told him. "I doubt that the commodore would be too keen on you talking to his fiancée." The word tasted sour in her mouth and she looked away so Elizabeth wouldn't read the expression on her face.

As Jack left, Elizabeth said quietly, "You know, Lieutenant Warren is here." Arianna nodded. "Are you really sure that he doesn't want anything to do with you, Arianna?"

"I'm sure."

"Really?" Elizabeth was grinning now. "Because he hasn't taken his eyes off of you since you climbed on board."

Looking up at her friend, Arianna glanced back to where Finn was. His green eyes met hers for a minute and she didn't detect a single bad feeling towards her. She only saw admiration, appreciation, and respect in them as she looked at him.

Returning her attention to Elizabeth, Arianna bit her lip to keep from smiling. "Oh," she said, blushing. Elizabeth giggled as the blush that radiated from her cheeks turned a deep scarlet.


	8. The Battle

**Times of Courage**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Eight: The Battle

It took all of Arianna's courage—plus Elizabeth shoving her—to go over and talk to Finn. Much to her surprise, he wasn't at all angry with her for engaging in piracy to rescue Elizabeth. On the contrary, he thought that it was a very admirable thing to do, to risk being arrested in order to rescue a friend and help her brother.

"I would never have the courage to do that," Finn told her quietly. "Not that I could, anyway. My father would probably disown me if I had the nerve to do anything like that." Arianna smiled slightly before she looked out towards the ocean. "You're a lot braver than you look, Miss Turner. Never let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Arianna."

"Pardon?" Finn looked confused as he looked towards her, bewilderment apparent in his eyes.

"My name is Arianna, Lieutenant Warren," she told him. "I'd be much obliged if you would call me that."

A small, hesitant smile spread across his face and he nodded once. "Then you must call me Finn," he answered. "Only those closest to me call me that. Family and some close friends. It would be much appreciated if you call me by that name, Arianna."

She smiled and held out her hand to his. "It seems that we have reached an agreement, Finn," she replied as they shook hands. With a small sigh, Arianna glanced up towards where Jack was directing the ship with his compass. "I would really love to know where that compass points to if it doesn't point north," she commented.

"That, I think, is one of those stories of Captain Sparrow that will remain a mystery," Finn observed. "Like how he managed to get off that island in the first place. That's a story I'd like to know."

Arianna smiled broadly. "That island was used as a port for rum raiders and he bartered passage off the first time," she told him. "He spent those three days drinking rum until they got there." She giggled at Finn's expression and patted his back. "Don't let it depress you, Finn. Even Elizabeth wasn't happy about the true story. Sometimes fantasy is more impressive than the facts."

"I'm starting to figure that out," Finn said, rolling his eyes. "So, when we get to this bloody island of Sparrow's and the pirates decide to fight, you're not planning on joining in, are you, Arianna?"

With an icy look towards him, Arianna retorted, "I'm not the kind of woman who's just going to sit around and let men do the fighting for her, Finn. There's no logical reason why I shouldn't; I'm as good as any man with a sword. Even Jack admitted that," she muttered, glancing up at the pirate. "I won't just sit around and do nothing while people are getting killed. What would you have me do, anyway? Sit around and practice my knitting?" Her voice was dripping was sarcasm as she finished.

Finn rubbed his hand over his face, looking incredulous. "I just had to fall for a woman who could probably beat me at sword fighting," he sighed. Arianna grinned, not denying that fact. She was probably better than Will and he could beat the entire army if he put his mind to it. "All right, all right, just promise me that this time you'll call if you need help," he begged her. "You cut it really cut last time, Arianna. I mean it. You're of no help to anyone dead," he added. "These pirates fight dirty and they're not going to play by the rules of a fair fight."

Arianna let out a deep sigh, glancing out towards the ocean as her thoughts drifted to the curse. If they had lifted the curse yet, then they would be mortal and could easily die. But if they hadn't . . . and if they waited until later to lift the curse, then . . .

"You have no idea," she said quietly, pushing her hands off of the railing as she walked away from Finn and climbed up the steps towards Elizabeth, who was waiting for her impatiently.

"Well?" Elizabeth asked when Arianna didn't say anything. "What did he tell you?"

"That what I did was honourable, because it was for the right reasons," Arianna said quietly. "But what does it matter, Lizzie? What if something happens tonight? What if the blood isn't repaid before the pirates attack?" She shook her head. "What happens then?"

"I think that everything is going to turn out all right for you, in the end," Elizabeth told her gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Good things happen to good people. I honestly believe that. And you are one of the best people that I know, Arianna. You are one of the best friends that I've ever had and Will could not have a better sister. And you are going to make a beautiful bride one day and make someone a wonderful wife. You are," she said firmly. "You just need to have faith in that."

Arianna smiled at her friend, then glanced back towards where Finn was standing there, watching the two women. And as her sea-blue eyes met his green ones, she felt her stomach tighten and she felt incapable of speaking for a moment.

"You know, Lizzie," she said when she recovered, "I think I may be starting to have faith in that again."

--

Almost the second that they arrived within eye distance of the island, Norrington had Elizabeth placed safely in his cabin. Arianna went inside mostly to keep Elizabeth company, but her friend made it clear that she was not going to be staying here. She was making a rope out of blankets when she got there and tossed them overboard, dropping into a boat that lay underneath.

"Are you coming?" Elizabeth asked, glancing over her shoulder towards Arianna. Torn between her brother and friend and fighting on the ship, Arianna knew what she was supposed to be doing. She couldn't save everyone, but she could save some few. Will was in good hands with Jack, plus he was fully capable of taking care of himself, and Elizabeth hardly needed anyone protecting her.

"Actually," Arianna said slowly, "I think that I'm gonna stay. I'm the only person here who knows about the curse. Plus, they may need an extra sword."

Elizabeth smiled and nodded before she dropped out of sight and Arianna let out a deep sigh as she sat down at the table, placing her head in her hands, thinking about the curse. "There is no possible way that we're going to get out of this alive," she muttered. She didn't even need her psyche to tell her the she was dead wrong.

The moment that she heard noise, Arianna hurried out of the cabin, her eyes widening when she saw the cursed pirates. "Look out!" she shouted, raising the alarm. What happened after that was pure chaos. It seemed that everywhere she looked, there were cursed pirates. There seemed to be no end to them, not to mention the fact that they couldn't die.

"You could have mentioned this beforehand!" Finn yelled at her as he pulled her down. "What are they?"

"Trust me, Finn, you wouldn't believe me," Arianna yelled back at him. He rolled his eyes at her as she plunged her sword into the pirate, wishing that they would hurry up inside and lift the curse. They were getting killed out here—what were they doing?

"Come on, Will," she whispered. They needed Turner blood to lift the curse, so he couldn't be dead. They wanted the curse lifted as much as they did, so they would've kept him alive.

Without warning, Arianna was knocked off of her feet and had the wind knocked out of her. The pirate above her cackling as he held a sword threateningly at her throat. "I'm going to enjoy taking your life, poppet," he snarled. Arianna did the first thing that she could think of; kick him in the groin.

Fortunately, it worked, though it put her in perfect position to have her sword knocked out of her hand. Just as another pirate was about to finish the job, she looked up and realised that instead of a cursed pirate, she was facing a real pirate, living and breathing.

Glancing up towards the sky, Arianna saw that moonlight still streamed from above, yet the pirate were still flesh and blood. Letting out a relieved laugh, Arianna pushed herself up as many of the pirates fell, one by one, their previous wounds catching up with them now that they were mortal once again. Those who were left proclaimed parley and they reclaimed the ship, now that the cursed pirates were no longer a threat.

Her relief lasted about ten seconds as she saw Finn lying some feet away, his uniform with blood spreading across the chest. Letting out a scream, Arianna raced towards him, squatting down beside him. Her scream had alerted the commodore and he pushed her out of the way, scooping Finn up and heading towards his cabin.

"Miss Turner, do not allow anyone to enter here," he told her sharply as she hurried to catch up with him. "I would not want to miss something in his injuries and cause him more pain. There is a chance I could save him, Miss Turner, a chance, so do not waste it. Not if you care about Finley." He slammed the door in her face before she could say a word.

--

They were almost back to Port Royal when the commodore finally came out of the room, wiping his hands off as he let her pass. "Do not wake him up," he warned her. "He needs rest." But Arianna barely heard him, as she knelt down next to Finn, clasping her hand into his.

She didn't say a word, she just sat next to him, brushing his blond hair out of his face as he slept, looking pale and more vulnerable than she had ever seen him while he was awake. It was only when she heard footsteps approach, Arianna looked around to find Will walking up behind her.

Her reunion with him hadn't exactly been the most heartfelt, mostly because she had been too worried about Finn to even talk to him. She'd spent the entire night pacing back and forth in front of the cabin door while his brother sat next to her, his eyes downcast as he looked towards Elizabeth. Had she been less preoccupied, she would've sensed the pain that was radiating from him, no doubt as a result from his broken heart from hearing about her engagement to Norrington.

"We're about to return to Port Royal," he said quietly. She nodded mutely, slipping her hand into her brother's and gripping it tightly. "Tomorrow morning, Jack's going to be sentenced to the gallows."

"That really isn't fair," Arianna said quietly. "He was doing something right, no matter what he's done in the past. I mean, he's saved most of our lives over the past few days. It's not right."

"I know." Will's voice was bitter as he looked out the window. "And I intend on making it right." He shook his head, smiling towards Arianna. "Who would've thought that day on the ocean, the two of us would find piracy more accommodating than society." She smiled slightly. "Promise me you'll forgive me, for whatever happens after this."

"Only if you forgive me," she told him. Will smiled slightly, glancing towards the unconscious man on the bed.

"The best of luck to you, sister," he whispered as he headed out of the cabin. "To both of you."


	9. Facing the Gallows

**Times of Courage**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Nine: Facing the Gallows

Finn was up and walking around by the time that they arrived in Port Royal, but Arianna still constricted him to bed as much as she could. He complained at her, but she secretly thought that he was glad of the attention. The moment that she got him back to his own house, the servants took care of him and she reluctantly left him in their charge, promising Finn that she'd be back once she'd checked on her brother. She had the distinct feeling that he was about to do something rash.

Arianna arrived at the gallows, where Jack was about to be hung as they were reading his crimes aloud. She was still dressed in the clothes she'd worn when she left here, but nobody passed her a second glance as she pushed through the crowds to find Will.

It wasn't that hard to do, mostly because the moment that they pulled the lever that made the floor drop, Will appeared out of nowhere, throwing a sword for Jack to stand on and causing a scene.

"Will!" Arianna yelled at him, pushing her way through the crowd. He was out of her mind, she decided as she yanked out her own sword, tackling a soldier aiming at her brother from behind. Seizing his sword, she tossed it to the freed Jack.

"Who are you?" Jack asked, bewildered as she was fencing with one of the soldiers.

She threw him an aggravated look as she kicked the soldier down. "That's no way to talk to someone who's risking their neck for you, Captain," she retorted. Jack grinned, obviously recognising her voice and swordplay, and joined in. Will was right behind them, fighting off soldiers as they made their way to the top of Port Royal, overlooking the ocean.

Arianna turned to find soldiers aiming guns at all three of them. She turned around, but they were surrounded. Letting out an aggravated sigh, Arianna glanced towards Will as Norrington and the governor approached, both of them looking at the twins in aggravation.

"I thought that we might have to deal with some ill-conceived escape attempt," Norrington commented as he glared at both Will and Arianna. "But not from the two of you."

"When we returned to Port Royal, I granted the both of you clemency," the governor snapped, looking as though this had been greatly wasted on the Turner twins. "And this is how you thank me? By throwing in your lot with _him_?" He nodded to Jack. "He's a pirate!"

"And a good man!" Arianna shouted. She ignored the scandalised and disapproving looks that she was receiving from everyone. It was over; she was done playing by the rules of society, which stated she had to act and behave a certain way just because she was a woman.

"If my sister and I have done nothing more than grant the hangman three pairs of boots, then so be it," Will retorted, glaring at the governor and Norrington as Elizabeth arrived. "At least my conscious will be clear."

Norrington stepped forward, placing his sword at the base of her brother's neck. "You forget your place, Turner," he snapped.

Will didn't back down, staring determinedly at Norrington. "It's right here," he replied. "Between you and Jack."

Elizabeth moved forward so quickly that Arianna half-thought she flew to Will's side. Taking his arm, she looked towards her father and fiancé. "As is mine," she told them. Startled gasps emerged from the crowd and Arianna grinned triumphantly.

"Mine, too," she told them, joining her brother and future sister-in-law as they formed a line in front of Jack.

"Lower your weapons," Governor Swann said unhappily as he stared at his headstrong daughter. When they didn't move, he said more sharply, "For goodness sake, put them down!"

One-by-one, they lowered their weapons as Norrington stared brokenly at Elizabeth who looked at him remorsefully. "So," he said quietly, "this is where your heart truly lies, then?"

"It is," Elizabeth said with finality in her tone. Arianna glanced through the crowd and saw Finn approaching, his green eyes unsurprised as he saw the scene in front of him. He rolled his eyes at her as she spotted a rather familiar looking bird taking off.

"Well, I'm actually feeling rather good about this," Jack remarked, walking forward. "I think we've all arrived at a very special place, haven't we?" he asked, looking at Governor Swann, who looked revolted to be addressed at by a pirate. "Spiritually? Ecumenically? Grammatically?" he added as he headed over to Norrington. "I was rooting for you, mate. Know that," he told the commodore before passing the couple. "Elizabeth," he said and she looked at him. "It would never have worked out between us, darling. I'm sorry," he said, looking regretful. "Arianna, good luck," he added, looking at her. "Will . . . nice hat." Her brother grinned as Jack climbed up onto the parapet, looking back at the group at large. "Men! This is the day that you will always remember as the day that you—"

Jack was unable to complete his well-rehearsed sentence as he toppled over the edge, falling into the ocean water, where he had saved Elizabeth not even a week ago.

"Idiot," one of the soldiers muttered. "He's nowhere to go but back to the noose." Arianna shook her head as Finn joined her, taking her arm gently and she laid her head onto his chest, mindful of his injuries as the _Black Pearl_ approached on the horizon, ready to pick up her captain.

"They have got impeccable timing," she observed. A few people chuckled at her words and even the governor's eyes looked less angry. Norrington looked over towards the _Pearl_.

"What's your plan of action?" one of his men asked him. Norrington said nothing and he asked, "Sir?"

"Perhaps, on the rare occasion of pursing the right course demands an act of piracy, piracy itself can be the right course?" the governor suggested. Norrington smiled slightly and nodded.

Then he turned around sharply. "Mr. Turner!" he snapped, drawing out his sword. Arianna was hardly surprised when he didn't even look at her; nobody wanted to hang a woman.

"I will accept the consequence of my actions," Will told him without the slightest amount of concern for himself. Arianna felt Finn's hands tighten on her shoulders as she waited for what their sentence would be.

However, Norrington looked towards Elizabeth, his eyes softening as he studied the blade of the sword, its light shining off of it. Arianna smiled slightly, remembering how long it had taken Will to forge that magnificent sword. "This is a beautiful sword," Norrington said without looking at her brother. "I would expect the man who made it to show the same care and devotion in every aspect of his life."

Will actually smiled then. "Thank you," he said as he rejoined Elizabeth. Her brother and the love of his life looked at each other with happiness.

"Oh, and Miss Turner," he added, looking towards Arianna now. She looked at him, half-expecting her to condemn her. Will looked at them in concern, but Norrington smiled towards her and Finn. "The best of luck to you both," he told her. "Lieutenant Warren, congratulations."

"Thank you, Commodore," Finn said as he held Arianna in his arms. She couldn't believe how unbelievably right it felt, being in his arms like this. And she never thought, just a few days ago, that she would end up here like this.

"Commodore!" a soldier called to Norrington. He looked towards him questionably. "What about Sparrow?"

Norrington considered, then shrugged. "Oh, I expect that we can afford to give him_ one_ day's head start." Then he walked away, leaving the governor to stare at his daughter.

"So," he said unhappily, "this is the path you've chosen, is it?" She smiled and nodded. "After all, he is a blacksmith."

"No," Elizabeth said as she lifted Will's hat off of him. "He's a pirate."

Arianna smiled as Finn wrapped an arm around her, leading her away from Will and Elizabeth as they headed down to the beach below.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting start to the day," Finn remarked as he sat down, rubbing where his wound was and wincing. She sat down next to him. "To be honest, I didn't think that the commodore was just going to let you get away with that."

"Neither did I," Arianna said with a laugh. "But I suppose he is full of surprises." She paused. "So, if he had condemned me, then what would you have done?"

"Begged him to let you go," Finn answered quietly. "And if that didn't work, I'd bust you out and sail away with you, leaving this world behind." She smiled. "I'm still working on where we'd go, but it would be some place wild and fantastical."

Arianna laughed. "I think that I've had quite enough adventure for one day," she told him. "Who knows? Maybe the next one, you'll join us. Because I have a feeling that we have not heard the last of Captain Jack Sparrow." She smiled and looked out to the sea.

"Maybe I will," Finn said with a smile. "You know, before you left, I went to my father and asked permission to court you." She blinked, startled and thrilled by his words. "He wasn't happy, but he wanted to know why, out of all the girls here in Port Royal, I would choose you."

She waited for him to continue, but he didn't. "And what did you tell him?" she finally asked.

"I told him," Finn said quietly, "that the moment I saw you, I felt as though my destiny had appeared before me. I knew in that moment that we were meant to be, Arianna. And I know you felt it, too." His green eyes bore into hers and she reluctantly smiled. "So? Will you have me?"

Arianna smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him. "You've got to promise me one thing, though, Finn," she told him. He raised his eyebrows in question. "Don't try and change me into a proper, respectable woman of society. I can't and won't do the things that are expected of me because it's not a part of who I am. I'm tired of acting a certain way simply because I'm a woman."

Finn nodded once. "All right," he said without any argument. Arianna grinned. "It seems that we have an agreement, Miss Turner."

Arianna smirked as he held her in his arms and she pulled him on top of her, kissing him for the whole world to see. And for that moment, for the first time since she was a little girl back in England, Arianna Turner was truly happy.

"_Yo ho, all hands,_" she sang softly as the waves splashed up around them. Finn grinned slightly. "_Hoist the colours high. Heave ho. Thieves and beggar. Never shall we die . . ._"

--Fin--

AN: All right, part one of Arianna's story is now complete. Don't worry, I've already started on the sequel and "Times of Trouble," the next installment of her story, will be up as soon as I get enough reviews. Let's say three or four . . . and if I get them today, then I'll post the first chapter of the story tonight. Savvy?


End file.
